Divination or fortune telling by examining the entrails of a person during a sacrifice or slaughter, usually those of virgins or young children: With anthropomancy, the viscera (organs of the digestive, respiratory, urogenital, as well as the spleen, the heart, and great vessels) were used to read symbols of the future.

This form of anthropomancy was practiced in ancient Egypt; and Roman Emperor Heliogabalus is said to have done this, too.

Herodotus said that Menelaus, who was detained in Egypt by contrary winds, used anthropomancy by sacrificing two children of the country, and sought to discover his destiny by this method.

It is reported that in his magical operations of anthropomancy, Julian the Apostate, caused a large number of children to be killed, so that he might consult their entrails and a woman was found in the Temple of the Moon at Carra, in Mesopotamia, hanging by her hair with her liver torn out.

This type of anthropomancy divination continued through the period of the Roman Empire and it was believed to have been revived by notorious practitioners of the black arts during the Middle Ages.

Divination or fortune telling by observing the facial features of a person.

antinopomancy

A "typo error" for anthropomancy; said to be a "ghost word".

apantomancy

Divination by the examination of all kinds of objects that happen to present themselves; omens drawn from chance meetings with a rabbit, an eagle, etc.

The theory was that nothing happened by chance, including a bluebird that represented happiness and a black cat might bring bad luck (in some areas of the world, a black cat represents “good fortune”).

In ancient times such events were frequently interpreted by oracles, and their importance persisted through the Middle Ages, even up to modern times. From them have stemmed countless superstitions that many people still believe may bring them good or bad luck, though the interpretations may vary in different localities.

Divination, or predicting, with numerology; as practiced by Greeks and Chaldeans: The Greeks would use arithmomancy to analyze the names of their warring enemies in order to determine their numerical values, and with this process, they thought they could predict the results of battles.

The Chaldeans divided their alphabet into three sections of seven letters and made a symbolic link to the seven planets to determine various arithmomancies which included numerical values of countries, individuals, and situations; all of which represented certain characteristics used for predicting future events.

armomancy

Divination by inspection of the shoulders to determine whether a victim was suitable for sacrifice to the gods.

Also defined as, “a manner of predicting the ability of mediumship by inspecting the shoulders of the prospective candidate.”

aspidomancy

Divination with a shield by sitting on it within a magic circle and going into a trance; predictions from the devil.

In the East Indies, a type of ritual magic whereby the psychic draws a circle, sits in the middle, mutters incantations, falls into a trance state, and when back in a normal state knows the answers to the questions of the supplicants.

Another explanation states that it was a primitive form of divination in which an entranced sorcerer, seated in a magic circle, became inspired by the devil and upon awakening recounted the predictions revealed to him from that source.